Sam's Wattpad and Writing Tips

Accepting Advice and Criticism

Sometimes, you ask for these things and get kind advice and good feedback, then everything is honky-dory and you have a big smile and the rest of your day is rainbows, lollipops, and puppies.

Other times, you ask for those things and you get bombarded with harshly honest info you didn't expect--which is tough to chew, I've been there.

Before you ask for advice or criticism, get ready, because you're going to get it. As soon as you click that dandy post button on the forums, a number of highly opinionated wattpadders will flock to your rescue. As soon as you tap send on that request for a thorough critique, it's going to go down. Be aware that they won't always tell you what you want to hear.

People will break things down, find inconsistencies, point out errors or flaws... it can get a bit overwhelming. People will tell you the truth.

For the most part, people will want to help you. Even if they can come across as harsh, they're generally only trying to help you improve.

I must add that trolls love an invite. They can lock on a target miles away from their land of Hatington, Trollenwestermechestenmeir (that new word is so wack that my autocorrect won't even touch it *facepalm*) and will show no mercy. Their only goal: to make you rage. That's all. They feed off of your anger and pain. Beware the dreaded troll.

"So how can I tell harsh criticism or honest advice from trolling?" you say.

If the message is belligerent, consisting of insults, indicates that they didn't even read your post or story, contains no helpful tips on improving, or is from a user who appears to have just started their account, it's probably le troll.

It's perfectly acceptable to ignore the troll and delete their comment. Do not engage the troll as it will only fuel them and cause a doo-doo storm that your readers do not need to witness. Be above it and move on.

If you've gotten some harsh feedback, but they do leave tips on how you can improve, or you can at least tell that they read it, this is the real deal. So what do you do with their information?

One thing I always remember is "you can't please everyone." What someone dislikes, someone else may love. Before you go creating a new plot and changing your characters around, consider your source.

Are they popular? Do they have oodles and caboodles of reads and votes? If so, there's a fine chance that they know their shizz. Let them help you whatever way they're willing.

What NOT to do:

•Make excuses. i.e. "I would have capitalized 'i' and put commas in, but I didn't have time." There is always time for the basic rules of writing. It should be automatic at this point. If not, save it until you have time to go back and edit before you post. I'm not saying it should be perfect, but it should show effort. Sometimes it's understandable to miss bold or italicizes if you're mobile, but get to a PC & add that in ASAP.

•Engage le trolls. Again, don't fuel their hater-fire.

•Lash out at anyone. It makes you look inconsiderate and negative, hence people aren't going to be so ready to read your work or befriend you.

•Be ungrateful. Always thank the advisor or critic for their help, because even if it wasn't what you wanted to hear, and maybe made you feel a little off, they are trying to help you and devoted their time and efforts to it.

•Be discouraged. I'll say it again, you can't please everyone. Also, things can always, always be improved. You learn by doing, you get better by learning.

What TO do:

•Accept it. Consider the advice or take the criticism and let that fuel you to improve. If someone tells you your punctuation is off, look up the basics and soak up all that info (it's important if you want to be a writer).

•Be courteous. Please do.

•Re-read. After you get a critic's view, go back and read your story to see if you can find what they're trying to tell you. If you, too, can see the fault, fix it.

•Remember that nothing is perfect. I've edited and re-edited myself, and I can guarantee that I can go back to any chapter of any of my books and still find minor mistakes. It happens. If someone points one out, thank them, edit it, and move on.

If I've missed any points, feel free to bring them up in the comments.

Vote if this helped you at all.